Cristóbal Cruz Rivera, also known as ''Lacandón'' (born 19 May 1977) is a Mexican

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

and former IBO and IBF

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

Champion.

Career

On 17 January 1992, Cruz began his professional career, beating fellow Mexican debutant Manuel Morales with a second round knockout in Monterrey. After racking up 24 fights with 21 wins and 11 knockouts in just over tens years, Cruz faced Francisco Dianzo for the WBC Continental Americas featherweight title. Cruz overcame Dianzo in the eleventh round about would beat him again in 2005 with a 6th-round knockout.

Road to the IBF title

Between October 2005 and May 2007 Cruz's career looked to be coming to an end when he had seven fights with four losses and a

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

including two losses to

Francisco Lorenzo Francisco Lorenzo (born October 27, 1971) is a Dominican former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He challenged for the WBC super featherweight title in 2008, and originally won the WBC interim title that year, but was not aw ...

. In August 2007, Cruz started back on the comeback trail when he defeated Alberto Garza with a tenth-round knockout to capture the WBC FECOMBOX featherweight title. This victory lead to a shot at the IBO featherweight title against South African champion

Thomas Mashaba Thomas Mashaba (born Khutsong, Gauteng, South Africa) is a professional boxer in the featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Profession ...

who had only one loss in a ten-year 25 fight career. The clash took place in March 2008 at the

Foxwoods Casino Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more th ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. The pair fought twelve tough rounds with Cruz having blood running from his nose from the eighth round onwards. In a major upset Cruz finished strongly breaking CompuBox record for punches thrown in a 12-round fight to take the victory by

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on whi ...

with one judge calling the fight even and two giving it to Cruz by one solitary round. In October 2008, Cruz would vacate his newfound IBO title and aim for a bigger prize - the IBF featherweight title - which had been recently vacated by Robert Guerrero who moved up to super featherweight. He faced fellow Mexican

Orlando Salido Orlando Salido Rivera (born November 16, 1980) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He is a multiple-time former world champion in two weight classes, having held the IBF featherweight title in 2010; the WBO fe ...

who had won an eliminator less than a year previous and had fought for the title previously, losing to

Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become ...

in 2004, his only loss since 2001 and a

again Guerrero in 2006. Once again Cruz overcame the odds to defeat the bookies favourite to take one of the most prestigious titles in boxing by beating a battered and swollen Salido on points. He followed this up with a defeat of once-beaten Jorge Solís, avenging a loss earlier in his career.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

Biography and Pictures
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Cristobal Boxers from Chiapas 1977 births Living people International Boxing Federation champions Featherweight boxers Mexican male boxers 20th-century Mexican people 21st-century Mexican people

Career

Road to the IBF title

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links